Type: Beer – Rice Lager
Name: Kirin Ichiban
Price: $3.29
Made: California?
Alc/Vol: 5%
“With his gold label and Special Premium Reserve appellation, Ichiban outclasses and outperforms.

In 1990, Ichiban’s debut made a splash in the world of super premium beers. The luxurious single wort (or first press) process yields a unique, complex flavor. With his gold label and “Special Premium Reserve” appellation, Ichiban outclasses and outperforms. But don’t be fooled by a snooty attitude — this is a great beer that goes with anything.

What makes Ichiban great

Prominent wort. Finest barley malt, premium hops, smooth finish, no bitter aftertaste.”

I happened to have flung together a nice dinner of sashimi (tuna and salmon) along with a few rice balls for a nice Japanese style dinner, and had this beer in my fridge. My first assumption was that it would be a perfect pairing. It didn’t necessarily fall short of my expectations but it didn’t exceed them either. It is a good beer but it seems like Anheuser-Busch was holding this mystical kirin back from greatness, like a pit bull on a leash it just wasn’t what it was all cracked up to be.

The beer has a nice malty taste with a spicy finish, the malty flavor threw me off because I was expecting a rice beer flavor more like Saparro. Yet here with Kirin Ichiban there was a malt flavor, so I can’t tell what is different since this one hails less from the east where the sun rises and more towards the west coast of California. The spicy finish had a sweet lemon like twist to it that came off nice and full of flavor. So with all this malty spicy goodness why am I complaining, well it tasted as if it was slightly watered down or diluted which is definitely not how I like describing my beers. Especially after you just read the ego stroking description with words like ‘special’, ‘premium’ and ‘luxurious’.

I give this mystical beer a 2.5 out of 5 banana rating. I had higher expectations, especially since I drank this with a Japanese dish. What’s your take on this beer – does it tickle your taste buds or fall short of expectations. Who knows maybe Japanese lagers just aren’t my favorite, but I’ll do some closer examining when I visit Japan this December.

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